TIMELINE: China carmakers eye global brands

Redacción de Reuters

4 MIN. DE LECTURA

(For related story see GEELY/STOCK or [ID:nHKG294697])

Oct 29 (Reuters) - Shares in Geely Automobile Holdings (0175.HK) rose 4.5 percent on Thursday, even as the broader market slipped, after its parent was named by Ford Motor (F.N) as the preferred bidder for its Volvo car unit.

The proposed tie-up is the latest of about a dozen deals tabled this year between western carmakers and Chinese companies, as big brands seek to restructure to ride out the recession.

Following is a TIMELINE tracing some of the proposed, failed or ongoing deals reported this year:

March 18 - Beijing Automotive is said to be seeking to buy U.S. auto parts maker Delphi Corp’s DPHIQ.PK non-core assets, 21st Century Business Herald reports. [ID:nSHA369285]

July 23 - GM rejects Beijing Auto bid for its Opel brand, the Financial Times reports, in favour of continuing talks with rival bidders. Beijing Auto, the Chinese partner of Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) and South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS), was said to be the highest bidder in the Opel auction.

Aug 30 - Geely is the only firm bidder so far for Ford’s Volvo unit, a Swedish business daily reports. [ID:nLT471018]

Sept 8 - SAIC Motor (600104.SS) may take a passive stake in Saab Automobile by teaming up with luxury sports car maker Koenigsegg, a source says. SAIC, a GM China partner, is interested in buying into the Swedish carmaker. [ID:nSHA123391]

Sept 9 - Geely says its parent wants to bid for Volvo. Its privately-held parent Geely Holding Group would seek full ownership of Volvo. [ID:nHKG180468]

Sept 9 - Beijing Auto agrees to take a minority stake in Koenigsegg as part of the Swedish luxury carmaker’s purchase of General Motor’s Saab unit. [ID:nL9222661]

Sept 17 - Geely approaches Magna International about possibly taking a stake in Opel, a source familiar with the matter says, but Magna is refraining for now from any such partnership.

Oct 9 - General Motors Co [GM.UL] says it has signed a deal to sell its iconic but tarnished Hummer brand to an investment partnership headed by Tengzhong Oct 12 - Tengzhong says it has started to seek regulatory approval for the deal to buy GM’s Hummer brand, aiming to close the purchase by early 2010. [ID:nHKG219405]